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Whitmer recruits Prusi as Northern Michigan director
Former Sen. Mike Prusi (D-Ishpeming), a longtime mentor of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, has been named director of the governor’s Northern Michigan Office in Marquette. Prusi, who was a co-chair of Whitmer’s transition team, served as Senate minority leader from 2009 to 2011 before Whitmer took over the Democrats’ top job. The Yooper won the slot after […]
ICYMI: Interviews with Whitmer, Gilchrist, Nessel and Calley
Within our first month of starting up, the Michigan Advance has brought you in-depth interviews with four of the top leaders in Michigan: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Attorney General Dana Nessel and former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley. We brought you breaking news you couldn’t find anywhere else. We’ve talked with them about […]
Susan J. Demas: The sister act between Whitmer and Nessel bucks stereotypes about powerful women
Turn on any reality TV show or soap opera (yes, I believe those still exist) and you’ll find women as perennial rivals, frequently dissolving into hair-pulling brawls. Sexist stereotypes persist in politics, as well, with the tedious debate over whether female candidates are “likable” and Democrats fretting that a woman can’t win the White House […]
Peters asks why Trump Hotel is exempt during government shutdown
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) wrote a letter this week to the acting Interior secretary asking why a clock tower within the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., has escaped closure during the partial federal government shutdown. Peters asked whether the hotel’s attraction, which is staffed by National Park rangers, is receiving “special treatment” […]
Oakland Co. Sheriff Bouchard attends Trump bill signing
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard on Wednesday was in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump signed a human trafficking bill. Bouchard posted on Facebook that he talked with Attorney General nominee William Barr about priorities for large county sheriffs afterward. He has been seen as Republicans’ best hope to keep the top job in […]
Former LG launches bipartisan charm offensive on Twitter
Updated, 4:40 p.m. Former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley is out of office and on to another job as president of the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM). And he’s also repeatedly been extending social media olive branches the next crop of Michigan leaders from both parties. In his farewell speech to the Michigan Senate last […]
MI Dept. of Civil Rights will take discrimination complaints during federal shutdown
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MCDR) on Thursday put out a notice that it is still handling discrimination complaints, even as federal agencies are shut down. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) held an event with people impacted by the partial government shutdown. Attorney Jack Schulz said he has a client whose discrimination […]
Right to Work repeal 1st bills for new Labor Caucus members
The first bills that will be introduced by members of the new Legislative Labor Caucus are familiar ones repealing Right to Work. The legislation signed by GOP former Gov. Rick Snyder in 2012 was a huge blow to the labor movement in Michigan, the home of the UAW. The law makes it easier for workers […]
Whitmer’s 1st State of the State slated for Feb. 5
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office announced today that she will give her first State of the State address on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The speech is slated for 7 p.m. before a joint session of the Legislature in the Michigan House of Representatives. Whitmer, a Democrat, will “focus on building bridges, putting Michiganders first,” the announcement said. That […]
Susan J. Demas: Nice girls don’t say ‘vagina’ … or ‘motherfucker’
As exhilarating at 2018’s pink wave election was for feminists — those who believe in the radical notion that women are people — we just got a 12-letter reminder that some things haven’t changed. After being sworn in, new U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) declared of President Trump at an event: “We’re gonna impeach the […]
Trump torches Tlaib comments as ‘disgraceful,’ Ocasio-Cortez decries ‘faux outrage’
No one seems to be neutral when it comes to U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s fiery call to impeach President Donald Trump. Hours after being sworn in on Wednesday, the Detroit Democrat said of Trump at a Moveon.org event, “We’re gonna impeach the motherfucker!” After the remark went viral, the Republican president responded at a news conference […]
Nessel calls Schuette ‘very gracious’ in AG transition
Dana Nessel, Michigan’s first Democratic attorney general in 16 years, had kind words about her Republican predecessor. Nessel told the Michigan Advance in an exclusive interview on Thursday that Bill Schuette was “very gracious” and left her a note — written with “exquisite penmanship” — in which he “offered to assist me in anything that […]